(no subject)
I've been looking at some websites about mental health and various campaigns to raise awareness. It was in the news recently that £300 m is wasted every year on drugs that are not necessary to prescribe, or are bought and not used. It's obviously a big issue but I really have my doubts if it is publicised in a positive way. 1 in 3 people will contract cancer in their lives, 1 in 6 people will have mental difficulties; the number of people taking medication has increased and is likely to continue to do so. I think when they first came up with the different definitions for illnesses, back in the 70s, in the United States, about 50% of the nation believed they were suffering from these symptoms, and with the introduction of prozac, it wasn't until the 80's when they reviewed the whole thing and realised about 20% of people shouldn't be on them.
So they want to make ammendments to the 1983 Mental Health Bill but not necessarily ammendments that bring forward the sort of care people actually need. I think it's often difficult what to decide what is serious and what isn't serious. Take Phil Spector for example; he has bi-polar disorder and is accused of murdering an actress, and he has had previous run-ins with gun posession and generally being a bit loopy; but Stephen Fry on the other hand; just a comic and author and all tools of the trade; I think it's a bit stupid to have a new bill that is basically a generalisation that people with mental health problems are all the same, and rather than being cared for properly, it is like they want to instruct people where to live, and what places they can visit. How on earth is that going to work? They already section people under the Mental Health act because they're deemed to be a threat to society and themselves, therefore losing their human rights, according to statistics only 5% of homicides in Britain are related to mental illness, the rest are all drink and drug related.
I feel that, the ideas of madness and disorders can both be pretty far apart. People do go on to live life normally, whereas others don't. Take the former Pink Floyd leadsinger, Syd Barrett, who died earlier this year, he has schizophrenia and left the Floyd and spent 35 years in solitude. He was completely nuts but never hurt anyone. Even people in Government have had disorders; Winston Churchill and Benjamin Disraeli were both bi-polar.
You might remember a Cannabis advert on tv, I think it was Talk to Frank, where there is this brain shop and basically it's warning about the dangers of Cannabis drying up your brain. The advert itself, I think it's stigma for like, I don't think it was very positive or explained anything. It basically just said you'll end up going mental. Will you? Not necessarily, apparently only 13% of psychotic and schizophrenia are related to the use of Cannabis. Every drug has a different affect on people - and the fact is the British Government put little funding behind research anyway.
Probably why £300 m is wasted when it could be put elsewhere - with hospitals being closed down, meh what a mess!